The NASCIO Programs Committee is proud to announce the theme of the 2015 Midyear Conference - Are You Ready? Disruptive Change is the New Norm. Don't miss this opportunity to gain actionable ideas and network with your peers. Visit the 2015 Midyear Conference webpage for up-to-date information on the Conference!

The following sponsor levels are available in limited quantities:- Pinnacle- Wifi- Member Center- Communication- Silver- Bronze

Give Back to AlexandriaDonations made at the Midyear Conference this year will be given to children in need in the Alexandria, Virginia area. Your donations will fund backpacks and school supplies for kindergartners. While all donations are gladly accepted, a $30 donation will provide one complete backpack.

A fun networking event will be held at the conference where teams will stuff backpacks. Donate today!

NASCIO All States Call

NASCIO state members and key state policy officials are invited to join us Wednesday, January 21 at 3 pm EST for an All States Call to discuss the release of the NASCIO Federal Advocacy Priorities and other key efforts NASCIO has planned for 2015.

Additional materials, including an outline and call-in information, will be sent in the near future. Please note this call is open to state members only. Questions may be directed to Mitch Herckis, director of government affairs, at mherckis@NASCIO.org.

We look forward to discussing how we plan to build upon our previous successes in 2015!

Funding: The Drive Wheel for Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration

The NASCIO Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration working group has added to their Collaboration Series by releasing "Funding: The Drive Wheel for Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration."

The newest report from the committee looks at funding approaches and some of the considerations to be applied in evaluating funding models. Specifically, it examines:

NASCIO President Stu Davis, chief information officer for the state of Ohio, has made state IT workforce a top issue during his presidency and has created the President's Initiative on State IT Workforce. This project will include a survey of CIOs, resulting in a publication and a presentation at NASCIO's Midyear Conference.

Survey questions were sent to CIOs on January 6 and responses are due January 23. For more information contact Meredith Ward, NASCIO senior policy analyst, at mward@NASCIO.org.

Learn, Share, and Connect: NASCIO Upcoming Webinar

Mark your calendar for the upcoming State IT Recognition Award Spotlight Webinar - Tuesday, January 20 at 3 pm EST. The latest webinar from the NASCIO awards program will feature Dr. Curtis Carver who will present on the Desire2Learn Implementation success in Georgia.

This is a great chance to dig deeper into the topic and gain new insights into the NASCIO awards program.

Read more about the winning project in the category of Enterpise IT Management Initiatives here.

NASCIO Technology Champion Award: Submissions due January 22

Nominations for the NASCIO Technology Champion Award are being accepted until January 22 at midnight EST.

To learn more about submission guidelines, the selection process, or to submit a nomination visit the NASCIO Technology Champion Award site here.

The NASCIO Technology Champion Award honors innovative leadership to promote sound information technology solutions, policies and practices. Recipients have a proven track record of sustained interest in and advocacy for IT in the public sector.

Watch on Washington

Federal Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Action Dominates Tech AgendaAs high profile cyber-attacks impact both industry and government, the focus on cybersecurity is only increasing. In the midst of the fallout from the Sony attacks, dormant cybersecurity legislation dominated the end of the 113th Congress in 2014. With the hacking of public CENTCOM websites and its twitter feed, cyber seems to be slated to continue as the central theme for federal decision makers in 2015.

Prior to the holidays and end of 2014, Congress passed a handful of cybersecurity bills. The vast majority of the bills codified existing federal cybersecurity programs and activities, many of which support state and local government. Several made reforms that will likely provide more resources for state IT security organizations or lay the groundwork for the federal government modernizing and maturing information security requirements and information sharing activities. For a full list and explanation of the impact on states, see NASCIO's blog post from December 17.

In addition, the President is proposing a number of cybersecurity and data privacy initiatives in the lead up to his State of the Union speech on January 20. This includes legislation updating law enforcement provisions for stopping and prosecuting those involved in cyber breaches or attacks, promoting greater cyber threat information sharing across the private and public sector, and creating a national data breach notification standard for private and non-profit organizations. The latter two pieces of legislation would preempt state laws, the former on state regulation of "the retention, use or disclosure of cyber threat indicators by private entities," and the latter on breach notification standards for businesses involved in interstate commerce. Additionally, the President is proposing a suite of consumer and student data privacy laws and actions that could impact state policies (details here).

President Intends to Take Action to Promote High Speed BroadbandIn the lead up to the State of the Union on January 20, President Obama is rolling out a suite of proposals to boost broadband connectivity across the nation. The package includes a new initiative to support community broadband projects through technical assistance, loan and grant opportunities to rural providers, and removing federal regulatory barriers to improve investment incentives. More details will be available as these programs begin to roll out. It also may coincide with a push to roll back or eliminate laws in 19 states that inhibit or prohibit local communities from publicly investing in and providing consumer broadband services.

FCC Actions on E-rate Create Additional Flexibility, Promote the Role of StatesThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed additional reforms to the "E-rate" broadband for schools and libraries program in December. The actions incentivize state participation in fiber deployment, both through direct financial incentives, as well as creating additional flexibility in financing and methods of connectivity. The biggest headline tended to be the Commission increasing the E-rate spending cap from the current $2.4 to $3.9 billion a year. Perhaps the most notable change for states is the order incentivizing state support of "last-mile broadband facilities through a match from E-rate of up to 10 percent of the cost of construction." The order also allows:

Applicants to seek funding for large, up-front construction costs in a one-time lump sum, while paying back their share of construction over multiple years.

Schools and libraries to build out high-speed broadband facilities themselves when it is proven the most cost effective model.

The Enterprise Architecture and Governance Committee held its monthly call on January 8 where discussion focused on what areas of data management would be targets for research in 2015. The call was a preparatory discussion to assist in forming the data management working group.

The committee continues to recruit for faculty to present on a series of webinars on data management and enterprise portfolio management. Contact Eric Sweden at esweden@NASCIO.org if you are interested in presenting.

The Health Care Working Group and the Security and Privacy Committee will hold a joint call on January 28. Ron Baldwin, Montana CIO, will present a case study of a data breach at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, and provide an overview of how cybersecurity insurance was used to deal with the aftermath. For more information on the Health Care Working Group contact Amy Hille Glasscock at aglasscock@NASCIO.org. For more information on the Security and Privacy Committee contact Meredith Ward at mward@NASCIO.org.

The National Innovation Forum held a webinar January 14 with speakers Jim Bates, Alaska CIO, and Todd Sargent, president of the city of Los Angeles Innovation and Performance Commission. Bates joined to discuss the procurement process in Alaska and Sargent shared information on the city of Los Angeles' Innovation Fund. The forum will hear from Eric Ellis on the North Carolina iCenter sensors project on the next webinar.

The State IT Procurement Modernization Committee met with Neeraj Chauhan, CalCloud project director, on the January 14 call. Presentation slides on the CalCloud project are available for download on the NASCIO Community. The committee is continuing its work on cloud services and the next publication will be a joint effort with NASPO. For more information on this NASCIO committee, contact Meredith Ward at mward@NASCIO.org.

NASCIO: Making Connections

Doug Robinson, NASCIO executive director, Mitch Herckis, NASCIO director of government affairs, and Meredith Ward, NASCIO senior policy analyst, participated in the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Forum, December 9-12 in Washington D.C. Robinson facilitated the NCSL Cybersecurity Summit prior to the full conference.

Herckis participated in the National Governors Association (NGA) experts meeting, "Using Data and Evidence to Improve Policy, Programs, and Practice." The meeting was a part of the NGA Chair and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper's initiative, Delivering Results.

January 22, Robinson will present on Federated Identity, Credential and Access Management at the Integrated Justice Information Systems National Symposium. Sam Nixon, CIO for the commonwealth of Virginia will join Robinson on the panel.

Robinson, Herckis, and Eric Sweden, NASCIO Program Director of Enterprise Architecture & Governance, will attend the GLOBAL Justice Information Sharing Initiative Federal Advisory Committee Meeting, January 27. Robinson will represent NASCIO on a panel focused on cybersecurity-perspectives and responses to addressing this national challenge.

For the annual Governing Outlook 2015 conference on February 3, Robinson will be a panelist for a session on Government Technology and Innovation. Tim Robyn, CIO for the state of Missouri, will also speak during this session.

Each month, NASCIO randomly draws three corporate members to be featured in the monthly newsletter. To view a complete list of NASCIO's corporate partners, visit www.nascio.org/aboutNASCIO/corpProfiles

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